Henri schneider



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRI SCHNEIDER, OF LE CREUZOT, FRANCE.

PROCESS OF MANUFACTURlNG THE ALLOYS OF STEEL AND NICKEL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 415,655, dated November19, 1889.

Application filed December 3, 1888. Serial No. 292,518. (No specimens.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRI SCHNEIDER, man ager of the firm Schneider (Kt(lie, of Le Oreuzot, (Saone-et-Loire,) in the Republic of France,manufacturers, have invented Improvements in the Process ofManufacturing the Alloys of Steel and Nickel, of which the following isa specification.

This invention relates to' the manufacture on the hearth or bed of afurnace, as hereinafter described, of steel alloyed with nickel, wherebya product is obtained which is employed in the construction of ordnance,armor-plates, gun-barrels, projectiles, and other articles for militaryor other like purposescommercial sheets or bars, for example. In orderto manufacture this combination or alloy of steel and nickel upon a bedor hearth in such amanner as to obtain ahomogeneous steel free fromflaws or hollows, it is necessary, on the one hand, to avoid oxidizingthe nickel before it forms the alloy With the iron, and, on the otherhand, it is necessary to cause the incorporation to take place at asearly a stage as possible in the opera tion, or immediately on thecommencement of the fusion. or liquefaction. This result is attained,according to this invention, by introducing the nickel by the aid of apreliminary melt or mixture in fusion, containing, say, for example,aboutthirty per cent. of nickel, sixty-three per cent. of iron, threeper cent. of carbon, and two of manganese and silicon, this 'melt beingplaced on the hearth or bed of the furnace together with a suitableproportion of iron or scrap-steel.

In my concurrent application of even date, Serial No. 292,520, I havedescribed the production of an alloy of cast-iron and nickel. This alloymay be used in the production of an alloy of steel and nickel, eitherwhile yet in the molten condition or after cooling and hardening. Thealloy of cast'iron and nickel, instead of being formed separately, maybe formed in the furnace before proceeding with the subsequentoperations, though it is preferred to form it separately. In case it isformed in the furnace itself a bed of anthracite is first prepared inthe furnace and the nickel is placed thereon with the requisiteproportion of iron or steel. The Whole is then covered With anthracitein order to protect the metal from contact with the air during thefusion. When the charge is melted, the excess of anthracite is removedand charges of iron or scrap are added in succession. WVaste or scrapsteel alloyed with nickel obtained by preceding operations is to beemployed in these charges, preferably in the first. From this time theoperation is conducted on the hearth or open furnace in the same way asin making ordinary steel, care being at the same time taken tocontinually protect the bath from oxidation by means of a layer of slagor cinder, Which is renewed as required, and also to take precautions toprevent redshortness in the metal before the final introduction of therecarbonizing and manganiferous silico-spiegel iron or ferromanganese.

The steel manufactured according to this invention usually containsabout five per cent. of nickel-a quantity sufficient to impart aremarkable degree of strength to the product; but the invention is notlimited to this proportion.

Steel alloyed with nickel according to this invention is especiallyadapted or suitable for use in the construction of ordnance,armor-plates, gulrbarrels, projectiles, and other articles employed formilitary or other like purposes, or the manufacture of commercialsheets, bars, and the like. The percentages of carbon, silicon, andmanganese can be regulated according to the degree of hardness required;but in all cases, in order to obtain the best result possible, theproduct must invariably be tempered in an oil or other bath.

I claim as my invention- The herein-described process of manufacturing ahomogeneous alloy of steel and nickel by first forming an alloy ofcast-iron and nickel rich in the latter metal, as specified, andcharging such alloy into a furnace of the character indicated, with theusual in- 9 gredients for the production of steel, and continuing theoperation in the ordinary way, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

HENRI SCHNEIDER.

\Vitnesses:

CHAELEs BRENOY, LEON FEANQKEN.

